Why does God allow suffering?

It was the question left open since the attributes of God. And it is Roger himself who, with all he has learned, builds the answer — before Tom completes it with the three conditions that erase every fault.

Roger, suddenly, says:

— Tom, do you remember that earlier I asked you how an infinitely good God can permit suffering in the world? You said you would resolve that later. I think I can now answer that question myself.

— Tell me, Roger.

— Suffering is not an arbitrary punishment from God. It is the natural consequence of the imperfections of souls and of the use they make of their free will. God gave His creatures the freedom to choose — and with that freedom comes responsibility for the consequences of their choices. Evil does not come from God — it comes from the imperfection of the spirits that are still evolving. And the moral laws that God created work like a compass — when we violate them, we suffer the consequences, not as vengeance, but as learning. Just as when someone eats to excess and ends up with a stomach ache — it is not a punishment, it is a natural consequence that teaches.

— I could not have put it better, Roger. Suffering, seen through the prism of a single existence, seems unjust. Seen through the prism of the eternity of the soul and of reincarnation, it reveals itself as part of a process of evolution and improvement. The justice of God is not human justice — it is infinitely wiser and more far-reaching.

— How should the punishment of God be understood?

— As an act of goodness, because as long as the spirit persists in evil it will be far from happiness. And God created spirits for supreme happiness. The punishment of God is an act of education and not of vengeance.

Roger asks his friend to continue.

— A condition inherent to the inferiority of spirits is that they are unaware of the end of their trial, believing it eternal, just as such a punishment seems to them it must be eternal. Repentance, though it is the first step towards regeneration, is not enough by itself; expiation and reparation are also required. Repentance, expiation, and reparation therefore constitute the three conditions necessary to erase the traces of a fault and its consequences. Repentance may occur during earthly life or in the spiritual state, at any time; if it is late, however, the guilty one suffers for longer. Expiation consists in the physical and moral sufferings that are its consequence, whether in the present life, or in the spiritual life after death, or yet in a new bodily existence. Not all faults bring direct and effective harm; in such cases, reparation is carried out by doing what should have been done and was neglected; by fulfilling the duties despised, the missions left unfulfilled. Responsibility for faults is entirely personal, no one suffers for the errors of others, save if he gave rise to them, whether by provoking them through example, or by not preventing them when he could have done so. Certainly, the mercy of God is infinite, but it is not blind. The guilty one whom it reaches is not set free, and, as long as the cause exists, he suffers the consequence of his errors. (3)

Excerpt from the work The Great Discovery, by César Manuel Malainho de Oliveira.
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